Sunday, March 23 The thoughts of men . . . are as an exhalation.—Ps. 94:11. The vast and reliable wisdom found in the Bible indicates that the book is from a Source higher than man. The apostle Paul wrote: “Who has come to know the mind of Jehovah, that he may instruct him?” (1 Cor. 2:16) That verse is based on what the prophet Isaiah asked those of his day: “Who has taken the proportions of the spirit of Jehovah, and who as his man of counsel can make him know anything?” (Isa. 40:13) The answer, of course, is no one. No wonder that applying Scriptural counsel on marriage, children, entertainment, association, industriousness, honesty, and morality brings superior results! We never get bad advice from the Bible. Humans, on the other hand, are simply not wise enough to recommend what always works. (Jer. 10:23) Their advice is constantly being revised and updated as they come to realize that earlier advice was flawed. w12 6/15 4:11 ------ WHERE do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Why is the world the way it is? What happens to us when we die? People around the globe ask these questions. How would we know the answers to these and other important questions if we did not have the inspired Word of God? Without the Holy Scriptures, our primary teacher would be personal experience. With personal experience as our teacher, could we ever have the same sentiments as the psalmist had toward “the law of Jehovah”?—Read Psalm 19:7. ... Another line of evidence that the true God is the Author of the Bible comes from what history reveals about efforts made to destroy its message. In 168 B.C.E., Syrian King Antiochus IV tried to seek out the inspired books of the Law to burn them. Roman Emperor Diocletian’s decree to demolish the meeting places of the Christians and to burn their Scriptures was issued in 303 C.E. The destruction continued for a decade. After the 11th century, popes led the efforts to suppress the spread of Bible knowledge, opposing the translation of the Scriptures into languages of the common people. Despite such attempts by Satan and his agents, the Bible has survived down to our day. Jehovah has not permitted anyone to eliminate his gift to mankind. ... There is other evidence of the Bible’s inspiration: the internal harmony, scientific accuracy, fulfilled prophecies, unusual candor, power to transform lives, historical soundness, and satisfying answers to the questions mentioned in paragraph 1. All info taken from jw.org Copyright © 2014 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 11:27:14 +0000